Scholar to Discuss Repair of Historic European Timber Buildings

The sagging roofs and jumbled log walls of old miners’ shacks and farm outbuildings in Colorado represent 150 years of nostalgia; in Europe, sagging walls can invoke the loss of several centuries of Western civilization.

Italian scholar Ario Ceccotti will give a free public lecture April 2 at Colorado State University. The "Analysis, Evaluation and Repair of Historic Timber Structures in Europe" will be presented from 1:10-2 p.m. in the Associated Students of Colorado State University Senate Chamber in the Lory Student Center.

Ceccotti will discuss a number of case studies conducted on historic buildings in Italy and other European countries and will describe modern methods and approaches used to improve the effectiveness and authenticity of European restoration methods.

Europe has numerous wooden components in historically important buildings. A lack of maintenance, or engineering repairs that go beyond what is necessary and damage the authenticity of the original present a frequent problem, according to Richard Gutkowski, professor of civil engineering at Colorado State, who is engaged in a joint research project with Ceccotti. Ceccotti, who is professor in the University Institute of Architecture at the University of Venice, formerly was a faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Florence. He has more than 100 publications on modern methods and approaches used to improve the effectiveness and authenticity of timber restoration methods in Europe. He is a member of the Italian Group on Structural Strengthening of Wooden Structures.

For more information, call Gutkowski at (970) 491-8291.